Rating: ✫✫✫
Well, it's been a little while since I've had the time to sit down and write a review of any books I've read (truth be told, it's been a while since I've had the time to sit down and read any books, much to my horror). But I'm back.
I started reading Dear, Amy purely by chance. I was out and about and found myself with an hour or so to kill, and found this in the local library. I knew I had it at home, so started reading. Psychological thrillers have saturated the market recently, so it's difficult to find one that stands out. This one was good, but I'm not sure it was the greatest I've read. Admittedly this may largely be my own fault. I've been so busy with work that I haven't really had the time to commit to the story. I found myself reading it in small chunks, with long delays between them. I imagine that I would have enjoyed it slightly more if I had read it all in one go.
Let me start by saying that I loved the idea behind the book. The way Margot receives letters to her column makes for a really imaginative way of telling a story that is not necessarily original, and I thought immediately that the plot had a lot of mileage. I was excited to see which direction the story went in. However, I found that our main character was a bit of a pain. She's nice enough, but I found her very difficult to really like, and so I wasn't as invested in the book as I normally would be. That being said, the twist in the story is very good, and I didn't see it coming. I just wish I could have experienced that shock that I would have felt if I was a little more into the book as a whole.
✼
Dear Amy,
I've been kidnapped by a strange man.
I don't know where I am.
Please help me.
Bethan Avery
✼
When Margot Lewis receives this letter delivered to the newspaper where she is a part-time agony aunt called 'Amy', she assumes it must be a hoax. Bethan Avery went missing twenty years ago, so why would she suddenly be receiving these letters now? But Margot also works in a school, where a girl has been missing for only a few weeks.
As more letters arrive, Margot realises that she can't ignore them. But as the circumstances become increasingly sinister, Margot is also forced to confront her own, troubled past, putting herself in the heart of the case, and right in front of a dangerous criminal.
*spoiler alert*